History of ballooning
Videos
The history of ballooning, both with hot air and gas, spans many centuries. It includes many firsts, including the first human flight, first flight across the English Channel, first flight in North Am
An 1818 technical illustration shows early balloon designs
A Kongming lantern, the oldest type of hot air balloon
The balloon built by Jacques Charles and the Robert brothers is attacked by terrified villagers in Gonesse.
The first manned hot-air balloon, designed by the Montgolfier brothers, takes off from the Bois de Boulogne, Paris, on November 21, 1783.
The Gordon Bennett Cup is the world's oldest gas balloon race, and is "regarded as the premier event of world balloon racing" according to the Los Angeles Times. Referred to as the "Blue Ribbon" of ae
Conqueror draped over houses of Berlin 1908
Frank Lahm, inaugural winner of the cup
St. Louis GB Cup 1907, mass inflation of balloons